Faris Sabbah, 46, was sworn into office Monday evening as Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools before the county education board and a standing-room-only audience studded with school and government officials.

Sabbah won election to the office unopposed in June. The former deputy superintendent declared his candidacy on the heels of former Superintendent Michael Watkins’ announcement that he would not seek a fourth term.

As superintendent, Sabbah is responsible for overseeing the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, which provides support and training to the county’s school districts, approves district budgets, and administers alternative education and other specialized programs. The base salary for the position is $215,000.

“I stand before you deeply humbled by this great responsibility and so grateful for the trust you place in me,” Sabbah said after taking the oath of office, heaping praise and gratitude on Watkins for his longtime leadership in county education and committing to uphold the former superintendent’s values of inclusion, equity and diversity.

Watkins, who turned 69 on Monday, is retiring from a 37-year career at the county office of education.

Standing room only crowd attends Faris Sabbah’s swearing in as the new Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools on Monday. (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Outlining his agenda, Sabbah said his office will continue to strengthen partnerships with the county’s 10 school districts to embrace new technology and develop a data-centric culture aimed at improving student achievement.

Other cited priorities included expanding access to early childhood education programs and civic leadership opportunities for students, as well as implementing a countywide safety framework.

Education faces “sobering challenges” in Santa Cruz County, Sabbah said, citing achievement gaps, the ongoing housing crisis, rising rates of depression and anxiety among students, a lack of federal support, and the decline of entry-level jobs driven by automation and artificial intelligence.

“The world is changing, and so will we,” he said.

Watkins and a handful of officials took the podium Monday to express their confidence in Sabbah’s leadership.

“I’m pleased to leave because I’m leaving the organization in good hands,” Watkins said.

Laurie Bruton, superintendent of San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, said the district superintendents are looking forward to working with Faris. “He’s been a very positive contributor to the county already, and he’s got the respect of the superintendents group of Santa Cruz County.”

“We continue to hold and expect great things from your incoming superintendent,” said Jack O’Connell, former state superintendent of public instruction. “Faris — big shoes to fill, but by golly you can do it.”

Sabbah, who at age 9 immigrated to the U.S. from Iraq with his family to escape the Iran-Iraq War, began his career in education teaching at Aptos High School. He went on to direct migrant education at Pajaro Valley Unified School District for 14 years, followed by a two-year stint as assistant superintendent in Monterey.

He returned to Santa Cruz County to work under Watkins as the deputy superintendent of schools in 2016.

Sabbah has a doctorate in education from UC Berkeley. He is married to Blanca Baltazar-Sabbah, an administrator in the Salinas Union High School District, with whom he has two young children.

Experience: Formerly Santa Cruz County’s deputy superintendent of schools; prior roles include assistant schools superintendent in Monterey County, director of migrant education at Pajaro Valley Unified School District and teacher at Aptos High School.

Nicholas Ibarra covers government, education, cannabis and agriculture for the Sentinel. Raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Nicholas has earned multiple statewide awards for his writing, which has appeared throughout numerous Bay Area newspapers including the Mercury News and East Bay Times. He has also contributed reporting to publications including KQED Radio, Scientific American and Sierra Magazine. Nicholas earned a B.S. in journalism from San Jose State University.